Closure fastener



Oct. 18, 1955 Q N wElLER 2,721,093

CLOSURE FASTENER Filed Dec. 6, 1951 Fig.1. 2

Inventor: Charles N. Weller;

His Attorney.

UnitcdStates Patent "ice CLOSURE FASTENER Charles N. Weiler, Nahant, Mass., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 6, 1951, Serial No. 260,223

3 Claims. (Cl. 292-246) My invention relates to closure fasteners, and more particularly to bails for retaining closed the doors or covers of cabinets, containers and the like.

The invention is especially useful in conjunction with cabinets, containers and the like, wherein a gasket is provided between the housing member and its door or cover. In such casings or enclosures, it is desirable to provide a resilient clasp to take up for gasket wear, and to allow for tolerance in manufacture, gasket positioning, and the like. Such clasp should also be quick operating without removal of gloves, and should not bind due to corrosion.

Accordingly, therefore, it is a principal object of my invention to provide a new and improved resilient closure clasp which is simple and inexpensive, though effective and durable.

In carrying out my invention in one form, I provide a hinged cabinet door with a peripherally extending projection overhanging the edge of the door opening when the door is closed. For making a latching engagement with this projection which has a flat latching surface which is tapered at its extremity, I mount upon the cabinet housing a pivoted bail having a bight portion which is formed of wire into a bulging or barrel-shaped helical spring having end turns which are smaller and stiffer than its mid turns. Preferably, the side arms of the bail are also formed of wire and are integral with the end turns of the barrel-shaped spring portion, the side arms being in the form of substantially parallel and substantially radially projecting extensions of the end turns of the spring. The bail and projection are positioned relatively to one another so that when the bail is swung to its latching position the larger central turns of the helical spring thereof are progressively engaged and displaced as they pass over the tapered flat surface of the projection and the bail consequently tightens down on the projection against the smaller and stiffer end turns of the helical spring as it is brought to its final latching or locking position.

My invention itself will be more fully understood and its various objects and advantages further appreciated by referring now to the following detailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a cabinet having a hinged door provided with a closure fastener embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the cabinet showing the door in closed position and the fastener in released position; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary end elevational view showing the door in closed position and the fastener in locking position; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the fastener of Fig. 1 in greater detail; and Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the locking projection shown in the other figures and cooperable with the movable bail.

Referring now to the drawing, I have shown my invention by way of illustration as applied to a traffic signal lamp cabinet comprising a housing member 1 having a substantially planar opening therein and a hinged door or 2,721,093 Patented Oct. 18, 1955 closure member 2 pivotally mounted upon the housing by means of a pivot pin 2b. At a portion of the door or cover 2 which is spaced from the pivotal axis of the door, and preferably at the opposite edge of the door as shown, there is provided a peripherally extending projection 2a which overhangs the edge of the door opening when the door is in closed position. Preferably the projection 2a has a flat latching surface and is tapered at its extremity, as shown at Fig. 5, for a purpose which will be more fully explained hereinafter.

Upon the housing 1 and in juxtaposition with the door or cover projection 2a, there is pivotally mounted a swingable bail 3. The bail 3 is integrally formed of a single piece of wire, the central part of which is coiled into a deformable bulging or barrel-shaped helical spring constituting the bight portion of the bail, the side arms 3a of the bail projecting from the axis of the spring in substantially parallel and substantially radially outwardly extending relation. The extremities 3b of the side portions 3a are inturned and disposed substantially in align ment with each other, and the bail is pivotally mounted by means of the inturned ends 3b in a pair of adjacent mounting lugs 4 formed on the housing 1. The lugs 4 are immediately adjacent the cover projection 22:: when the cover is in closed position, so that the bail 3 is swingable upwardly and over the projection 2a in clasping or locking relation. It will, of course, be evident to those skilled in the art that the lugs 4 may equally well be made integral so that wherever in the appended claims I may utilize the term lug in the singular sense, I intend this term to include either one integral or two separate lugs for mounting the opposite sides of the bail 3.

In operation, when the bail 3 is swung from the position of Fig. 2 toward the position of Fig. 3, the larger turns of the central part of the barrel-shaped helical spring forming the bight portion of the bail first engage the tapered front edge of the projection 2a. As the bail moves further up over the projection, the spring portion of the bail is progressively deformed due to the tapered configuration of the projection 2a, so that in its final position the axis of the helical bight portion of the bail is arcuate and the side of the bight which engages the projection 2a is substantially flat, such side being in substantially full end to end engagement with the projection 2a. Thus the bight portion of the bail tightens down against the smaller and stiffer end turns of the helical spring as the bail is brought to its final position.

While I have described my invention as applied to a housing or cabinet having a hinged door and having a bail and locking projection on the side of the door and housing opposite the hinge, it is not necessary that the bail be located in precisely this position so long as it is located at some portion of the periphery of the door which is spaced from the pivotal axis thereof. Indeed it is not essential for the practice of my invention that my new and improved clasping bail be applied to a hinged closure member, but a plurality of such clasping bails may be utilized to hold a removable or slidable closure member in place upon any suitable housing having an opening therein. Moreover, it will be evident that, while I have described my bail as being pivotally mounted upon the housing and engaging a projection upon the cover or door of the cabinet, the invention is equally applicable in reverse order, i. e., with the bail pivotally mounted upon the closure member for engagement with a projection on the housing member. I, therefore, intend in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination, a container including a housing member having a substantially planar opening therein and end turns which are smaller and stiffer than itsmid turns and having substantially parallel spaced apart side portions extending to the ends thereof and formed as substantially radially outwardly projecting integral extensions of the end turns of said spring, the flat surface of said projection being so positioned relative to said spring of said bail that the mid turns of said spring are progressively engaged and displaced by said flat latching surface of said projection and said spring tightens down thereon against its end turns when said bail is swung over said projection.

2. In combination, a housing having an opening therein, a door hinged at one side of said opening and having extending from a portion thereof spaced from its pivotal axis a substantially rigid projection, said projection overhanging the edge of said opening when said door is closed, and a bail pivotally mounted at itsends upon said housing in juxtaposition with said projection and having a bight portion formed as a single integral barrelshaped helical spring having end turns which are smaller and stiffer than its mid turns, said bight portion being transversely swingable to a clamping position over said projection with which it makes an initial engagement at its mid turns which are displaced to permit its passage over the end thereof and with which it makes an additional engagement through its stiffer end turns in said clamping position to provide an additional tightening force between said door and said housing. a

3. In combination, a housing having an opening therein, a door hinged at one side thereof to one side of said opening and having extending from the other side thereof a tapered projection, said projection overhanging the edge of said opening when said door is closed, and a Wire bail pivotally mounted at its ends upon said housing in juxtaposition with said tapered projection, said bail having a bight portion formed as a single integral barrel-shaped helical spring having end turns which are smaller and stiffer than its mid turns and having substantially parallel side portions formed integrally with the end turns of said spring and extending substantially radially outwardly therefrom to its said ends, and said bail being mounted for transverse swinging movement of said bight portion over said tapered projection and progressively with deformation of its smaller and stiffer end turns into substantially complete end to end engagement therewith when it is in its final latching position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

